Mississippi State University opened the Maroon & White Invite with a sweep of Lipscomb. The Dawgs went three for three with scores of 25-22, 25-21 and 25-18 to beat the Bisons in Newell Grissom Thursday night.
Head coach Julie Darty Dennis expressed gratitude for her team’s hard work and dedication to secure the win.
“We did a really good job of staying patient, staying the course and managing. We executed our service plan and defensive plan very well,” Dennis said. “Overall, it was a good team win. Everyone did their job, and we have been talking a lot about that all week.”
MSU registered 26 kills, 22 blocks, 49 digs and 25 assists over the three sets.
Senior Emily Oerther and graduate student Alexa Fortin Goede, MSU’s setters, claimed 20 assists and 13 digs. Graduate student Lauren Myrick, a Lipscomb transfer, grabbed 17 digs and three assists. Goede also pocketed a double-double with 10 assists and 10 digs.
“We talked a lot this week about how we start, how we finish, everything in between and sustaining a level of play that we could be proud of, and I thought we did,” Dennis said.
Graduate student Zoe Gonzales hit a season high of 10 blocks for the Bulldogs. Karli Schmidt managed eight kills and three blocks, while sophomore Sophie Agee ended the night with six digs and a block. Senior Rebecca Walk contributed four kills, two blocks and two digs.
Mississippi State closed out non-conference play against Abilene Christian on Saturday with a four-set win.
The Wildcats won the first set 25-21 and lit a fire under the Bulldogs who rallied to finish the match with a win in the last three sets with scores of 25-23, 25-16 and 25-14.
“I think we are exactly where we need to be heading into SEC play,” Dennis said. “I said at the beginning of the year that we are a young group, we do not have a ton of experience. We learned a lot this preseason.”
All Tournament pick, junior Amina Shackelford, and senior Karli Schmidt both notched 13 kills into their belts, adding to the overall 48 kills. Goede and Oerther combined for 39 assists and 17 digs, contributing greatly to the success of the Bulldogs offense.
Myrick stepped in an outside hitter and added 12 digs, two blocks and a season high of five kills. Freshman Mary Neal stepped out as libero with a season high of 16 digs.
“I was really proud of the team for figuring out a way to fight it out and win; it was pretty gritty,” Dennis said. “I’m pretty excited to head to Texas A&M this week.”
The Bulldogs will head to College Station, Texas, for their SEC opener on Wednesday. First serve is set for 7 p.m.